Conventionally, a game system has been known in which a general television device (first video output device) and a controller (second video output device) including a display section capable of video output, which is different from the first video output device, are used in combination. In such a game system, for example, a first game video is displayed on the television device, and a second game video different from the first game video is displayed on the display section of the controller, thereby proposing a new game.
However, the above-mentioned proposal has focused mainly on what kinds of videos are to be displayed and how to display the videos in relation to game processing. Therefore, processing relating to audio has been neither described nor proposed in particular.
Therefore, an object of the exemplary embodiments is to provide a game system, a game apparatus, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a game program stored thereon, and a game processing control method, which are capable of providing a player with a new game using sound output devices that are physically different from each other. It is noted that examples of the computer-readable storage medium include magnetic media such as a flash memory, a ROM, and a RAM, and optical media such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a DVD-RAM.
The above object is achieved by the following configurations, for example.
An exemplary configuration is a game system including a game apparatus, a first output device having a first display section and a first sound output section, and a second output device having a second display section and a second sound output section. The game apparatus includes an image generation section and a sound generation section. The image generation section generates a first image to be displayed on the first display section, and a second image to be displayed on the second display section. The sound generation section generates, based on the same sound data, a first sound signal to be output to the first sound output section, and a second sound signal to be output to the second sound output section. The sound generation section generates, as the second sound signal, a sound signal to which no predetermined acoustic effect is added, and generates the first sound signal so as to include a sound signal which is obtained by adding a predetermined acoustic effect to at least a part of the sound of the second sound signal.
According to the above exemplary configuration, for example, when reproducing a music, a sound to which an effect such as a reverb is added is output from the first sound output device, while an original sound to which no effect is added is output from the second sound output device. Thus, it is possible to provide a player with a game in which the player can realistically feel a sense of space caused by the sounds.
In another exemplary configuration, the sound generation section may generate the first sound signal so as to include a sound to which a reverberation effect is added as the acoustic effect.
In still another exemplary configuration, the image generation section may generate, as the first image, an image of a virtual space based on a first virtual camera, and generates, as the second image, an image of the virtual space based on a second virtual camera.
In still another exemplary configuration, the second output device may further include an operation data generation section configured to generate operation data based on an operation performed by a player. The game apparatus may further include a game processing section configured to perform a game process based on the operation data.
In still another exemplary configuration, the first output device may be a monitor device which includes or is connectable to predetermined loudspeakers as the first sound section, and a sound based on the first sound signal may be output from the loudspeakers which are included in or connected to the monitor device. The monitor device may be a general (tuner-built-in) television, or a monitor having no built-in tuner (e.g., a monitor for a personal computer).
In still another exemplary embodiment, the sound generation section may change the intensity of the acoustic effect in accordance with a distance from a sound source object in a virtual game space, which is defined as a source of the sound based on the first sound signal and the second sound signal, to a predetermined object or a virtual camera in the virtual game space.
In still another exemplary embodiment, the sound generation section may generate the first sound signal such that the shorter the distance from the sound source object is, the smaller the acoustic effect is.
According to the exemplary embodiments, it is possible to provide a game and the like using an acoustic effect that causes a player to realistically feel a sense of space caused by sounds, and thus it is possible to provide the player with an unprecedented user experience.